Twice Bitten

On previous cutback weeks, I didn’t really notice the fact that the mileage was lower. The long run was shorter, but apart from that they always felt like normal weeks. Well, last week was different, I certainly noticed the drop in mileage from 68 to 55, and my legs immediately snapped back into action. I probably shouldn’t have increased my pace, but I never felt like running faster, the effort was the same as for the equivalent (but slower) runs in higher mileage weeks.

Anyway, I intended to finish the week with 6 easy recovery miles on Sunday. For the first 2.5 miles, it was a perfectly unremarkable recovery run like I’ve had countless ones before. Then, as I was passing one particular house, 4 dogs shot out, all of them barking viciously, and obviously in aggressive mood. I did what I always do when dogs come out barking, I run at the far side of the road in the hope that they realise that I’m not aiming towards their territory. That almost always works – not for those, though. They did go for me, and one gave me a very nasty bite – I didn’t even manage to kick it in revenge, but eventually I managed to get past them. Up to then my heart rate had been well under 140, but from then on, and for the rest of the run it was between 155 and 160; I was far too worked up to relax. My route also led me past the same house again on the way back (there was no real alternative, unless I wanted to run 9 miles instead of 6), and I picked up a stone in the hope I could throw it at one of them, just in case, but that seemed pathetic even as I picked it up. Luckily, the owner must have noticed something and locked them inside, because when I passed their house again there was no sign of them.

When I told Niamh about this afterwards, she told me that a friend of her who lives close to that spot, has a neighbour with a pack of vicious dogs, and the situation is so bad that nobody can walk past the house without being in real danger of being attacked. It seems rather obvious that these are the same dogs I had my encounter with, especially as this was already the second time I got bitten by one of them. I might contact the police about it, but I haven’t managed to talk to Niamh’s friend yet.

This week has different challenges, mostly related to Pfitz’s seemingly insane schedule. I had a sneak peak at the rest of the training, and this really seems to be the most intense week of them all. It started with a 12-mile run, 7 miles of which at threshold pace. I know I have been whinging about the long distance of the threshold sections before, even if it was only for 5 or 6 miles. This time, 7 miles felt definitely manageable, and I was zooming along at previously unknown speed. I very nearly managed 7:00 pace, and that on a fairly hilly course. This must be the effect of the cutback week, and especially the two preceding easy days. I just hope that it didn’t take too much out of my legs, and that they will bounce back into action before Friday. I will need them then.

My injury to the calf/achilles seems to have gone away. There was still some pain in the left hamstring, especially when I was running hard downhill, but I’m confident that will go away, too.

Weekly mileage: 55 miles

27 Aug: 6 miles, 53:15, 8:52 pace
28 Aug: 12 miles, 1:38:08, 7:35 pace, with 7 miles at 7:02 pace

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Late update: I've uploaded two (crappy) photos of my bite mark.